Don't worry, Peter. I won't print today's email . . . but I will tell everyone what you said

Apparently our friend Peter LaBarbera does not like my countdown clock. He told me so in an email today.

Now in all honesty, I should confess that I emailed Peter the blog post in which I talked about my clock. I did it because I felt he deserves some excitement that doesn't have anything to do with going to leather conventions and taking pictures.

I just never expected him to email me back.

Also, he asked that I don't publish the email, so I won't.

But I found a quibble (look it up) in his request. He asked that I don't print the email. He didn't say I couldn't tell anyone what was in the email.

To make a long email short, Peter said:

how dare I bother him since he does not consider me a "serious" writer or critic on gay issues,

(this coming from a guy who attends more leather conventions than any gay man I know)

that he has more pressing issues to worry about than my book,

(yeah like attending rubber conventions and begging for money - by the way, I noticed that Peter listed the budgets for major lgbt organizations in some sort of attempt to demonstrate how "underfunded" he is. He conveniently doesn't mention the budgets for anti-gay industry groups such as

Focus on the Family - $137,848,520 (2004 Focus on the Family revenue); $24,988,036 (2004 Focus on the Family Action revenue)

Concerned Women for America - Concerned Women for America - $8,484,108 (2004); Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee - $555,477 (2004)

or the American Family Assocation - $14,186,203 (2004)

I know - these are 2004 budgets but I doubt their donations have dropped drastically in three years. If Peter is underfunded, he shouldn't blame HRC or any other lgbt group. He should hit up James Dobson for a "fellowship" or whatever they call those things these days.)

and that he will respond to me if and when he chooses

(and I won't hold my breath, but the clock stays. By the way Peter, pick me up something nice at the next leather convention. Something that I can wear to church.)

Lastly, Peter seems to think that I have an "obsession."

(In all honesty, you all have seen Peter's page complete with those nasty pictures and such. Just who is obsessed with what?)

The clock ticks for thee, my friend

To the right of this blog is a new item.

I have already told you all that I emailed a copy of my book galleys to Peter LaBarbera last week. He has yet to respond to the charges that the book lodges against him and other members of the anti-gay industry.

To make matters more interesting, I have inserted a clock in this blog. Its purpose is to illustrate the fact that Peter will most likely not respond to the charges lodged in my book.

You see, Peter and other members of the anti-gay industry are liars. They exploit religious beliefs and fears in order to demonize the lgbt community. Peter especially likes to attend subcultural events such leather and bondage events and "take pictures" of what he sees there. He then uses these pictures and adds lurid details to put the lgbt community in the worse possible light.

It does not matter to him that these events are attended by both heterosexuals and gays. Nor does it matter to him that the majority of gays are not necessarily into bondage and the like.

I find it ironic that Peter does so much to demonize the lgbt community but cannot sit down and answer charges that he and others like him have consistently distorted legitimate studies and relied on junk science or outright lies to further their agenda.

He won't do it because Peter acts through hyperbole and sleaze.

My book is neither. It is a breakdown of how he and other members of the anti-gay industry (i.e. Lou Sheldon, Robert Knight, Andrea Lafferty, etc.) use tactics and deceptions that belie their claims of being pro-family.

My book deals with truth and logic, two things that Peter does not understand. And this is why he won't refute anything in it.

Meanwhile, you all watch and enjoy the ticking clock and let it be symbolic of the hypocrisy of not only Peter but the rest of the anti-gay industry.

I'm sorry but I have to do this

I said I wouldn't talk about the Donnie McClurkin/Barack Obama situation again. But forgive me if I say just one more thing.

Something I read today got me angry. And it tweaked something that has been on my mind for a while.

A columnist at the Washington Blade, Ryan Lee, said the following:

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama has been an exceptionally outspoken ally on gay rights issues, candidly and eloquently supporting us no matter which audience he’s addressing. To feign outrage at his campaign for inviting an anti-gay gospel singer — a singer! — to a campaign concert in South Carolina exposes the political naïveté that cripples the gay rights movement.

Who knew gospel singers could be anti-gay?! Who knew that black churches were a key constituency for any Democratic politician?!

In their zeal to criticize Obama for inviting Donnie McClurkin to perform at the gospel concert, several gay men and lesbians suggested he should have tapped a more welcoming black minister, like Carlton Pearson. Pearson is indeed an inspiring voice for spiritual acceptance of gay people, but even he featured McClurkin on his celebrated “Live at Azusa” concert series, and he continues making money off McClurkin’s presence on the CD — including the $15 I paid for it.

Neither Obama nor Pearson should apologize for being affiliated with McClurkin and gay people shouldn’t mandate that the only way you can accept us is to reject those with whom we disagree.

You know what? I have to say something and if I apologize to anyone that I may offend, but I am very disappointed with some members of the lgbt community, especially some of our media, who have bent over backwards to give Obama a free pass on this.

I am angry because (here it comes), I think some folks in our community are willing to give Obama a free pass because they cannot or will not understand the effect of this entire controversy on lgbts of color.

And I am angry because I feel that if the situation was done with all the characters (except for Obama) being white, the same lgbts claiming that Obama aligning himself with McClurkin is no big deal would be up in arms. They wouldn't be so concilatory.

LGBTs of color are truly divided in identities. We can either align ourselves with a community who will support us because we are lgbt while subtlely telling us to downplay our racial heritage or we can either align ourselves with the black community which tells us to downplay our lgbt orientation.

I have chosen to not downplay who I am. I consider myself uncompromisingly gay and unapologetically black. Many of my brothers and sisters are also living their lives this way.

But many have chosen to align themselves with the African-American community. And frankly I don't blame them.

Why in the hell should the lgbts of color align themselves with a community that obviously considers the warping of their psychological and spiritual well-being as necessary sacrifices?

McClurkin speaks to the African-American community. He has brought his message of being a supposed "ex-gay" virtually unchallenged to the African-American community. He has also brought that lie about homosexuality and pedophilia to the African-American community virtually unchallenged.

Not once (and if I am wrong, please correct me) have I heard lgbts who consider Obama an ally address this situation. And where is our media, such as the Washington Blade, on this? Not one person stood up and said "what message is Obama sending to lgbts of color?"

I will tell you the message he sent - being black and lgbt are two different things that can never intermix.

And that is the very same message that Lee is sending with his column and some members of the lgbt media sent with their silence.

It's almost as if lgbts of color don't matter. Apparently we are supposed to shut up and take our lumps for the good of the community.

Bullshit.

The next time members of the lgbt media wonder why it is so hard for lgbts of color to come out or wonder why so many lgbts of color feel segregated from the so-called mainstream gay community, or why lgbts of color would choose to align themselves with a gay-unfriendly black community, I suggest that they remember the Obama/McClurkin incident.

Not for what was said, but for what wasn't said.

Book update - Massive Success

I had a very interesting email exchange with Dave Daubenmire, the author of the "Homo-nauseous" column I wrote about yesterday.

But I won't reflect on that.

And no matter how much I am tempted, I will not talk in length about our friend Peter LaBarbera's new and rather pathetic request for money to fight the "radical homosexual menace" today on his site.

I will only say that I am waiting for your refutations, Peter.

Today is mostly a happy day.

My book enjoyed a huge in jump in sales on two occasions on amazon.com. Presently (and this may change), I am ranked number two in my specialty category.

Now on amazon.ca (amazon.com's Canadian site), I have been ranked number one in gay/lesbian nonfiction for a few weeks now.

But there is a small catch. Apparently the problem I had with how my book was categorized on amazon.com has played over to amazon.ca; it's described as a children's book.

I am working to correct this error and I hope it will not create a problem with my sales. However, I am of the opinion that while my book is categorized as a children's book, no one bought it with the notion of reading it to their child.

Anybody who reads the summary can tell that it is not a children's book.

Also, my book is now available on this new location.

And next month, I hope to have my first book signing event.

So you will forgive me when I say:

DAMN I'M TIRED!!!!

Come stickpins tomorrow. I will be more receptive. - (Katherine Hepburn, The Lion In Winter)

UPDATE - Six sites online where you can find my book:

xlibris.com/HolyBulliesandHeadlessMonsters.html

amazon.com

barnesandnoble.com/

http://www.a1books.com/

http://www.tower.com/

www.bordersmedia.com/

Forgive me Lord, but your 'followers' are nuts

Apparently someone left the cage open because members of the anti-gay industry are figuratively "showing their asses" today.

Let's break down the top three stories:

Holsinger may become surgeon general

Rumour control has it that President Bush may just go ahead and recess appoint James Holsinger as our Surgeon General. I have covered the Holsinger situation in detail so I am not going to rehash the entire sordid affair. If you want to a recap, check out this link.

But if Bush does recess appoint Holsinger, I would not be surprised. It would be symbolic of our president's legacy as a self-righteous wannabe John Waynish type of figure who, despite all of his lies and deceptions, is never wrong; at least in his eyes.

Bottom line - I wouldn't trust Bush to be in charge of a dog pound much less a nation. But he has served two terms; two long, long, loooooong terms.

He makes me almost miss Reagan. At least Regan could make his bullshit sound like a symphony.

Homo-naseuous but lies are okay with me?

Dave Daubenmire today wrote a column talking about how he is "homo-nauseous."

His column is a scream. The beginning warns readers that his words aren't going to be "politically correct."

He should have said his words weren't going to be correct. That would have been more to the point because it is apparent that while Daubenmire claims to be "hom-nauseous," he has no problems with lying.

His column is filled with the standard anti-gay industry straw men arguments. He also peppers the column with links to sites that supposedly proves his point:

But I thought "homosexuals" were just like everyone else and that all they wanted was to be free to "live their lives" in peace. If that is the case, why won't they stop identifying themselves by what the do in the privacy of their bedroom? Why are they so intent on making me accept their deviancy? Why are they trying to indoctrinate 6-year olds into their perversion?

I took a look at the link he used there.

It is from a Massachusetts anti-gay industry group, Mass Resistance. Dauberman and the link in question was talking about a situation that took place a few years ago involving David Parker, a man who claimed that he was arrested for keeping the "homosexual agenda" from "indoctrinating" his six-year-old son.

This, of course, is a blatant lie. I talk about the Parker controversy in detail through my book. I used it as an example of how the anti-gay industry sometimes creates and distorts controversies to further their agenda.

I emailed Mr. Daubenmire the following letter:

i am sorry but your references are wrong. the sites you linked to do not tell the entire story of each controversy.

for exampe, i noticed that you linked much to the mass resistance site and especially the david parker situation.

in the first place, no one was trying to indoctrinate parker's son. he simply brought home a book that included a same sex family.

david parker kept complaining to the school, even though he was told that homosexuality was not a part of his child's curriculum. It culminated with parker getting arrested as a publicity stunt. he claimed that the school did not comply with his request to exclude his child out of discussions of same sex families, even if such discussions were to happen spontaneously (apparently a few of his son's classmates came from same sex households).

the school told him that discussions about same sex households are not included in the district opt out policy because discussions of families are not the same as discussions of sex. The school told him this after seeking the advice of district office. they also him that they could not keep students from talking about their families.

Parker refused to leave the school after the meeting and was arrested. conveniently mass resistance "just happened" to be there to take pictures of the incident.

a year after his arrest, parker and mass resistance told the lie that his son was attacked because of his father's stance. the school investigated, the area police investigated, the area social services agency investigate. all found that the claim was a lie.

just wanted you to know the type of folks you are taking info from. you claim to be "homo-naseuous." it is apparent that you do not feel the same way about lies.

I also posted it to his site. How much you want to bet that it probably won't appear there?

Peter done gone cuckoo

Peter LaBarbera never ceases to amaze me. Check out the following from his site:

When did Chicago become a worldwide Mecca for perversion enthusiasts? Every year it hosts “International Mr. Leather” with its accompany “pig sex” parties (somebody call the Swine Defamation League). The Windy City is home to a ”museum” for sadistic sex practitioners called the “Leather Archives & Museum” – no joke; here’s the link to this tax-exempt, non-profit institution.

And now, Sodom-by-the-Lake welcomes International Mr. Rubber, an international contest for, well, rubber fetishists. Don’t ask. The picture above from their website should tell you all you need to know.

Partnering with the rubber enthusiasts was the Center on Halsted, a brand new “GLBT” community center in Chicago’s homosexual Boystown neighborhood (which is officially demarcated with rainbow kiosks). Center on Halsted’s construction was financed with the help of Illinois taxpayers through a $10 million “link deposit” by the Treasurer’s office— then run by a Republican, Judy Baar Topinka — that helped them get access to low interest-rate loans.

If you want to see pictures, check out the link I posted. What can I say about a man whose stridency makes him a mockery?

Usually nothing.

But last week, I sent Peter the galleys of my book.

I understand now that he probably didn't have enough time to read them. Probably preparing for the rubber trip.

After all, why bother to explain your lies when you can create some new ones?

Breaking down ENDA opposition

Now there may be some who say that I pay too much attention to Peter LaBarbera and Americans for Truth (in name only.)

But sometimes they make things so easy that I can't help but to indulge. Case in point, the lastest entry by Peter about ENDA.

If anything, it underscores that sometimes Peter is so fanatical in his "crusade" against the lgbt community that he undermines his efforts while making our side look good.

This time, he posted a debate that took place on CNN regarding ENDA between Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber and African-American activist Keith Boykin.

Just watch it. Is it just me or did Boykin totally destroy Barber?

Watching the debate got me thinking about the lies put out by Barber and some of those who oppose ENDA.

It allowed me to place their opposition in a true perspective.

Barber and company seem to think that a person's personal religious beliefs should trump the ability to be free from discrimination in any environment, even in secular situations.

It may sound admirable but answer my questions regarding the possible scenarios:

Should a manager of a restaurant who has a religious objection to homosexuality be allowed to fire an employee if said employee is gay?

Should a landlord with a religious objection to homosexuality retain the right not to rent to a person if said person is gay?

Should the manager or owner of a supermarket with a religious objection to homosexuality be allowed to kick out a potential buyer if said person is gay?

And if these things are allowed, where could we draw the line?

Will a physician who has an objection to homosexuality be allowed to not treat a patient if said patient is gay?

Or what about a pharmacist?

Again where do we draw the line?

Worse case scenarios from hell

One thing made clear in the fight over ENDA is how the anti-gay industry have shifted their lies from the gay and lesbian community to the transgender community.

And apparently they don't believe in being subtle. Some of the things I have heard coming from Matt Barber, Lou Sheldon, Peter LaBarbera, and the rest have been absolutely unbelievable in the areas of audacity and idiocy.

My "favorites" are the following:

ENDA will lead to

- men with five o'clock shadow and evening gowns demanding jobs at nurseries and churches,

- drag queens sharing swimming pool changing room with little girls,

- men arbitrarily claiming that they are transgender in order to sneak a peek at women using the toilet.

Some may chalk up these claims to desperation. I say it is more than that. The sickness of these claims reveal the rotting moral center of so-called "family groups." I mean what type of people actually thinks of these things about "drag queens" and "men in five o'clock shadow and evening gowns."

Probably the same type related to those who claimed that integration would lead to black men raping white women.

Those folks claimed that they were Christians too.

Book update - Guess who I sent a copy to

Apparently my book is doing well on amazon.com

For the second time, only one copy of the paperback is left. And more are on the way.

I chalk it up to the fact that my book seems to be selling well in Canada via amazon.ca

I really won't know how many I have sold until probably two weeks from now when my publisher gets the wholesellers' figures.

Meanwhile . . .

I think that you all remember the brouhaha last week between me and our friend Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth (in name only).

To rehash it - he kept asking for a review copy and I kept telling him to buy one.

Well that struggle is over.

I said last week that my decision not to email him a review copy of my book was not set in stone.

Well I meant it because I emailed him a copy of the galleys last night.

At first, I was defiant that Peter should buy a copy of my book. Part of the reason why I felt this way was because he had asked for a review copy before anyone else really had access to my book.

Now, over two months and a bunch of good sales later, that has changed. More people have access to my book.

Also, I am curious as to how folks on the other side of this argument would react to my book. After all, I accuse them of distorting science and relying on junk studies to demonize the lgbt community.

I couldn't help but to be curious as to how they would respond when they read my exact charges.

In the end, I guess that little bit of curiousity convinced me to go ahead and email Peter a copy of my galleys.

So now Peter, the ball is now in your court. You have my book.

Can you refute my claims?